


On Their Sound

by Allekha



Category: Dororo (Anime 2019)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Languages, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-07 21:39:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18240503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allekha/pseuds/Allekha
Summary: Dororo says a lot of things. Hyakkimaru is starting to learn some of those many words, like how he is apparently the 'big bro'.





	On Their Sound

There's a phrase that Dororo says a lot: "And this is my big bro, Hyakkimaru."  
  
Hyakkimaru doesn't understand most of that phrase for a long time. The sounds of _Hya kki ma ru_ refer to him – that one is easy enough to learn when he starts to be able to resolve the newfound noise of the world around him. Dororo talks a lot, and Hyakkimaru slowly begins to put his speech together into meanings.  
  
The warm thing they make at night that causes pain is _fire_ and it is _hot_ , but the _water_ that feels strange when it runs against the new skin of his shin is _cold_. The things that Dororo hands him to eat are _food_. The delicate green mists of plant life that smell good are _flowers_.  
  
Hyakkimaru still isn't sure what so many of the words Dororo says mean, or if there is anything to their order. But he is learning.  
  
One night, he taps Dororo to get his attention. He points to himself, and says – the sounds coming aching and small from his throat – "Big bro?"  
  
"Yep!" That means he got it right, if he couldn't tell from the sudden cheerful tone to Dororo's voice. He's always happy when Hyakkimaru has learned something new, and doubly so when it's a new word. He seems to like words an awful lot.  
  
Hyakkimaru points to Dororo and waits.  
  
"Oh, are you asking what I am? Well, you're Dororo's big bro, so that means I'm Hyakkimaru's little bro. You can keep calling me Dororo, though. It's easier to say, anyway. But if anyone asks, I'm the little bro, okay?" Hyakkimaru waits some more, trying to parse all of the sounds, until Dororo gives a big sigh and settles closer to him. "Little bro. Can you say it?"  
  
"Little bro," Hyakkimaru repeats, slowly, trying to move his mouth and tongue to get the sounds right. He thinks he might have heard the word before, in villages they have passed through. He's not sure exactly what it means, but Dororo is one.  
  
"There you go!" Dororo suddenly hugs him, warm against his real skin through their clothes. "You're the best big bro I've ever had, you know? I mean, you're the only one, but still. Even if you're weird and don't talk very much." And then Dororo is chattering away again, filling the silence of the tiny clearing they've made in the woods for themselves.  
  
What a strange child. Hyakkimaru still isn't sure why he decided to attach himself so quickly and thoroughly to him, but he's been a good companion for the most part. He brings Hyakkimaru to the demons faster, and he helps to make food taste better before they eat it, and he does all the talking that Hyakkimaru doesn't want or know how to do. Ever since they met, his world has been expanding – not always in the most pleasant ways, but there is so much, he is finding, that he has been missing.  
  
Hyakkimaru still remembers how it hurt when Mio died, her pretty soul and lovely voice and caring touch gone forever. He doesn't want to think of how it would hurt if anything happened to Dororo, or if Dororo decided to wander off as easily as he came into Hyakkimaru's life.  
  
That doesn't seem likely, but the idea bothers him enough that he curls an arm around Dororo. The stream of words dies for a moment, before it starts back up again. Hyakkimaru doesn't understand, but he listens; even if he doesn't learn any more words before they go to sleep, there are other things to hear in the rise and fall of Dororo's voice. 

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: adopted by an unlikely person
> 
> Still not sure if I find all the ways the translator avoids translating 'aniki' in the subs to be annoying or hilarious.


End file.
